The Pistons long term success is married a lot more to Andre Drummond becoming an All-Star 1st Team Defense player than a 2nd round draft pick becoming a useful bench player.

It can only help Drummond, KGB, and Monroe to have to play against Big Ben in practice. He isn't the player he once was, but he's still a pro. He can show Drummond where the weight room is and instill some pride and confidence into him.

Try to get Pippa Middleton to play in Europe for a season. Joe D can point to Singler as an example of what playing time in Europe can do for you. And how it might be better for him to get that experience instead of getting the experience of being on an NBA roster, but never dressing for a game.

As long as a guy continues to play professionally in a league outside of the NBA, the team still holds his draft rights. The Pistons could simply not sign Middleton. This seems plausible since the team already has 13 small forwards.

This list comprises all players drafted by NBA franchises, who have not been subsequently signed by their teams, and whose rights the team still owns. Unless the team relinquishes these rights - which isn't done without both the players agent asking very nicely and the team having no reason not to do so - these rights are held for as long as the player continues to play professionally in leagues other than the NBA. If that seems harsh, that's because it is.

Take Andrei Fetisov, for example. Fetisov was born in January 1972 (you do the maths), and drafted in 1994. He will never, ever, ever join the NBA. But why does Milwaukee continue to holds his rights, when they have no intention of signing him at any point? Well, the answer is that they're using him for his trade value. That probably seems like a stupid statement, given that the draft rights of someone who will never join the league have about as much use as a chocolate teapot. But it's not about the value of the rights per se; it's more of a technical issue.

In trades, both teams have to give up something. What that something is, is up to them. A player, pick, or cash are options. But sometimes, they don't want to (or can't) give those things up. So they have to give up at least something, even if only as a token gesture. That's where these scrub's draft rights become useful. They can act as the "something" given up in a trade. A team can give up the draft rights to a player as their outgoing half of a trade, and add in nothing more if they so wish.

That may sound like it's farfetched and would never happen. Yet it does. It's rare, but it does occasionally happen. For example, when Peja Stojakovic left Indiana to sign with New Orleans in July 2006, Indiana asked New Orleans - with a cash incentive to convince New Orleans to help them - to make the transaction a sign-and-trade, rather than an outright signing. The act of doing this garnered Indiana a mahoosive trade exception, which allowed them to promptly acquire Al Harrington, something that they could not previously have done without the trade exception. However, the trade had Indiana giving New Orleans some cash and Stojakovic, but New Orleans not giving out any players or draft picks back to Indiana. (And why would they add any? They're the ones doing Indiana the favour.) This meant that they had to give up something else in the trade, and the thing that they wound up forfeiting were the draft rights to Andy Betts, a beautiful and fantastic Englishman drafted in 1998 who won't play in the NBA. It's not much, but it's 'something'. And that's all that they needed it to be.

It can only help Drummond, KGB, and Monroe to have to play against Big Ben in practice. He isn't the player he once was, but he's still a pro. He can show Drummond where the weight room is and instill some pride and confidence into him.

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Ben can practice against him before and after the game and show him the shortcuts on how to get to The Palace, but if he wants to come back, he should be sitting behind the bench with Jerry the security guy until somebody gets hurt. I know it may hurt his feelings, but these young dudes got to play and learn on the floor and not be sitting in suit on the bench behind the Ben and the A team.

As I stated Ben can practice against him before and after the game and show him the shortcuts on how to get to The Palace, but if he wants to come back, he should be sitting behind the bench with Jerry the security guy until somebody gets hurt. I know it may hurt his feelings, but these young dudes got to play and learn on the floor and not be sitting in suit on the bench behind the Ben and the A team.

As I stated Ben can practice against him before and after the game and show him the shortcuts on how to get to The Palace, but if he wants to come back, he should be sitting behind the bench with Jerry the security guy until somebody gets hurt. I know it may hurt his feelings, but these young dudes got to play and learn on the floor and not be sitting in suit on the bench behind the Ben and the A team.

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You guys act like Ben isn't still one of the best + - players on the team. When he is on the court he has about as much a positive effect as anyone else on the team...him getting 10 minutes a game will not prevent the development of anyone on the team...there is absolutely no chance he gets near 20 minutes a game. No rookie doesn't develop because a former superstar and possible HOFer came in for 5 minutes during the second quarter to give him a rest break. If ben came in and took over the starting job then maybe there would be issues...but he will have nothing but a positive effect as a 15 minute or less player who is still the best defender by far on this team. I would much rather have them see the way Ben plays on the court in real games for a few minutes a game than have them play 5 more minutes a game.

I understand we're rebuilding...and ben's production this year won't be nearly as valuable as it would be on a contender...but he's not a scrub, and he's not completely washed up. In fact he's still one of the better defenders and rebounders in the league. edit: and Greg Monroe has noted several times the effect Ben has had on him as a mentor.

You guys act like Ben isn't still one of the best + - players on the team. When he is on the court he has about as much a positive effect as anyone else on the team...him getting 10 minutes a game will not prevent the development of anyone on the team...there is absolutely no chance he gets near 20 minutes a game. No rookie doesn't develop because a former superstar and possible HOFer came in for 5 minutes during the second quarter to give him a rest break. If ben came in and took over the starting job then maybe there would be issues...but he will have nothing but a positive effect as a 15 minute or less player who is still the best defender by far on this team. I would much rather have them see the way Ben plays on the court in real games for a few minutes a game than have them play 5 more minutes a game.

I understand we're rebuilding...and ben's production this year won't be nearly as valuable as it would be on a contender...but he's not a scrub, and he's not completely washed up. In fact he's still one of the better defenders and rebounders in the league. edit: and Greg Monroe has noted several times the effect Ben has had on him as a mentor.

You guys act like Ben isn't still one of the best + - players on the team. When he is on the court he has about as much a positive effect as anyone else on the team...him getting 10 minutes a game will not prevent the development of anyone on the team...there is absolutely no chance he gets near 20 minutes a game. No rookie doesn't develop because a former superstar and possible HOFer came in for 5 minutes during the second quarter to give him a rest break. If ben came in and took over the starting job then maybe there would be issues...but he will have nothing but a positive effect as a 15 minute or less player who is still the best defender by far on this team. I would much rather have them see the way Ben plays on the court in real games for a few minutes a game than have them play 5 more minutes a game.

I understand we're rebuilding...and ben's production this year won't be nearly as valuable as it would be on a contender...but he's not a scrub, and he's not completely washed up. In fact he's still one of the better defenders and rebounders in the league. edit: and Greg Monroe has noted several times the effect Ben has had on him as a mentor.

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I'm not really interested in Ben's plus/minus ratio at this point for the franchise. You are right. The team is in rebuilding mode. Every minute that Ben Wallace is on the floor is one minute less played by Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, Vlsav Kratsov, Kym English, etc. Ben needs to retire and ride off in the sunset.

I'm not really interested in Ben's plus/minus ratio at this point for the franchise. You are right. The team is in rebuilding mode. Every minute that Ben Wallace is on the floor is one minute less played by Andre Drummond, Greg Monroe, Vlsav Kratsov, Kym English, etc. Ben needs to retire and ride off in the sunset.

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so we should never play anyone over 30? Rookies development isn't solely dependent on them getting every single minute possible at their position. Ben wallace will be the only legit veteran big man on this team getting more than 5 minutes a game and even that needs to be cut so Kratsov etc drip up every last minute of playing time? I do care about his plus minus because regardless we are still trying to field a team that doesn't totally suck. I don't see the logical jump of people saying that these rookies would get more experience and progress faster with no veteran big man presence on the team doing anything than they would with one who is going to be playing 10-15 minutes a game (probably less time than even 10 minutes)? I just disagree. Seeing how a player like Ben Wallace performs day in and day out on the court can't just be disregarded...and obviously JD agrees to an extent.

You're basically saying Ben needs to retire and ride off into the sunset because he is old, not because he lacks skill. That is insulting in a way since his abilities are now called defunct because a horrible team like our Detroit Pistons is so bad that we can't manage to play any veterans more than 5 minutes a game. I can't wait to see our incredibly lethal front court with absolutely no veteran presence what so ever :/.

so we should never play anyone over 30? Rookies development isn't solely dependent on them getting every single minute possible at their position. Ben wallace will be the only legit veteran big man on this team getting more than 5 minutes a game and even that needs to be cut so Kratsov etc drip up every last minute of playing time? I do care about his plus minus because regardless we are still trying to field a team that doesn't totally suck. I don't see the logical jump of people saying that these rookies would get more experience and progress faster with no veteran big man presence on the team doing anything than they would with one who is going to be playing 10-15 minutes a game (probably less time than even 10 minutes)? I just disagree. Seeing how a player like Ben Wallace performs day in and day out on the court can't just be disregarded...and obviously JD agrees to an extent.

You're basically saying Ben needs to retire and ride off into the sunset because he is old, not because he lacks skill. That is insulting in a way since his abilities are now called defunct because a horrible team like our Detroit Pistons is so bad that we can't manage to play any veterans more than 5 minutes a game. I can't wait to see our incredibly lethal front court with absolutely no veteran presence what so ever :/.

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Big difference between 30 and 38. Ben just doesn't have energy that he had when he was 30. If there was a chance that he could be productive again, than fine. The difference between Ben Wallace playing 10 per game and Kratsov.........getting valuable experience is monumental......except for the won/loss stats. I'd guess maybe a 2 game swing either way. Please post articles showing that Ben Wallace contributes to the team as a mentor...player quotes will suffice. I could post declining stats.......anmd other personal issues, but we know those also.

You're basically saying Ben needs to retire and ride off into the sunset because he is old, not because he lacks skill.

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No, I believe he lacks skill. The guy never had a lot of skill. He had more heart than most players, but skill was never his thing. I have no problem with having a veteran presence to mentor the youngsters, but I don't see Ben filling that role.

Since returning to the Pistons, Ben Wallace has been a positive influence on young players with the team. The latest example, via Keith Langlois at Pistons.com, is his work with Vernon Macklin:

Young big guys who ace the prerequisites – a thirst for learning and an eagerness to embrace hard work – get to attend the Ben Wallace Graduate School of Hard Knocks. Macklin sits in the front row.

“I can really say, out of everybody, he really talks to me a lot and he definitely has my back,” Macklin said. “I said to him one day, ‘I want to be like you, Big Dog.’ He said, ‘No, be like I used to be.’ This guy is really serious about this and he still loves the game, no matter how long he’s been in the league. If he sees a young guy working hard, he definitely pulls for you 110 percent.”

If the frontcourt continues to struggle as much as it did in the first game the season, Macklin will definitely get some minutes. Although it’s a longshot based on his draft position that he’ll ever develop into a rotation player, Wallace, an undersized, offensively challenged, undrafted big man from a small college is about the perfect player for Macklin to try and model his work ethic and passion for the game after.

A journeyman with the Magic, the team that drafted Maggette in 1999, Wallace told the rookie to get into the gym, hit the weights and build his body.

Maggette listened.

"He was the first guy who started me in weight training," Maggette said. "He probably does not remember, but he pushed me and told me you need to get in the gym. Get a little stronger. Get your muscle game up."